The use of percent is commonplace, not only in calculating tips, tax, and loan interest, but also in everyday language. When someone says he gave 100 percent or 110 percent, what does he mean? Whether he realizes it or not, he is referring to the definition of percent.

Percent means "parts per one hundred," and is designated by the % symbol. Thus, 100% is equivalent to , which is why 100% in common language can be interpreted as "totally," "completely," and "without any left behind." So, 110% is equivalent to , which is why in everyday language, 110% means to go above and beyond.

Conversions Between Percents, Fractions, and Decimals

Since a percent is parts per one hundred, converting percent to a fraction is the easiest conversion. Just remove the percent symbol, place the number over one hundred, and reduce, as shown in the first (left-most) portion of the table.

To convert a percent to a decimal...